There are no coincidences. There are only encounters.
VTravel in the company of creative minds, artists, food connoisseurs or even educators. Is this the cherry on top of the cake? To be accompanied on your travels by someone with multiple past lives, with surprising skills and who can share their passions with you on a patch of land, in front of a wood-fired oven, or in an unusual workshop…
Nowadays, this means diving into a story, touching the materials with your own hands, immersing yourself fully in a region; it’s not just a question of discovering a new destination, but it’s also about taking part in an experience – at the risk of subverting your spirits, even just a little – and allowing yourself to go with the flow, to discover something new about YOURSELF, too.
Charly’s Team is delighted to introduce you to some rare individuals, for a special getaway, to a destination that can be far away or close by. Our mission is to map out routes, design itineraries and prepare you to set off on an adventure – with local teams on standby at all times. On this occasion, we would like to introduce you to Paul: a one-man band, equally at home behind a stove, or at a table in the dark corner of a bar, or explaining a road map with charming anecdotes. That’s right, Paul is a very resourceful man who can help us design a trip around you, who will come to know you “better than you know yourself”, ensuring you come home with the best memories.
Let’s travel to Japan, but off the beaten track,
and allow Paul to tempt us with some mouth-watering dishes.
“Islands, volcanoes, mountains and rivers. Imagine a string of small villages, making a gentle impression on the unspoiled landscape, with immediate access to springs and forests. Everything is calm. They grow crops of vegetables, citrus fruits, buckwheat and rice here. From coastal villages teeming with fish, to volcanic areas sprinkled with a network of lush vegetation, to a wild urban sprawl: Japan intrigues visitors with its coexistence of contrasting worlds. Savour a freshly-made sashimi in a small fishing port from times gone by. Loose yourself in the incredible landscapes of its mountainous islands, then sip sake on a rooftop bar in a supercity. Dine in a restaurant with refined design, located in the middle of a rice paddy; enjoy a coffee whilst sitting on a tatami mat in a cabinet-maker’s workshop, hidden deep in the forest. Off the beaten track, Japan is a country that will surprise, astonish and dazzle you.”
In the depths of Liguria
Just a stone’s throw from the deep blue sea, bordered by the serene Alpine foothills of Piedmont, lie the rich hinterlands of Liguria. Dense groves of wild olive trees crowd around a few scattered villages, whose steeples rise up like observatories over the horizon. This is where you can taste local wines, sitting on the shore of dazzlingly white coves. Enjoy a slower pace of life while bathing in one of the region’s idyllic natural basins, in the shade of stone bridges. From the Alpine foothills, covered by the wintry snow, the sea views are breath-taking. Ride a donkey along old mule tracks, and end up in a comfortable inn: your hosts, local shepherds, will be counting on you to help them prepare their trofie* by hand. You can sleep on site, comforted by the crackling sound of a log fire, unless you’d prefer to stay at a monastery, hidden in the depths of the woods, your ideal retreat?
By following these pleasant routes in the hinterland, you will discover cultures that are sometimes circumscribed to very small hamlets. Italian becomes a lingua franca, originating from a Ligurian culture that was once one of the greatest powers in the Mediterranean, as the erstwhile Republic of Genoa, whose denizens include the very same Christopher Columbus who set sail for the New World. The splendour of yore is retained, modestly, in the lanes and back alleys of Genoa, the largest Medieval old town in Europe, where proud palaces stand still in the shadows, waiting to be illuminated once more. Underground, old inns with vaulted ceilings welcome you with a carafe of Pigato wine, a dish of anchovies, and a piping-hot farinata, perfect for sharing. A little farther on, under the shimmering surface of the sea, a submerged statue of Jesus Christ stares at an abbey, stranded on the beach. There are no cars here; the abbey can only be reached by a footpath. We are no longer far from the Cinque Terre.
* short, twisted Ligurian pasta
Born in New Caledonia, Paul has had a keen sense of adventure and a passion for travelling off the beaten track since childhood. Once a journalist and French professor at Baikal University, Paul traded in his chalk for a knife. He went off to train at L’Astrance, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris, where the produce is the true star of the show. A place where the senses are sharpened, in order to better determine gestures and measures, with the elegance and vivacious curiosity that define the work of chef Pascal Barbot.
Having benefited from this life-changing experience, Paul then set off to discover new techniques and knowledge, in France, Italy, Russia, the Caucasus and Japan, training in the three-Michelin-starred Hyo Tei in Kyoto, and the one-Michelin-starred Elsa in Monaco. Exploring markets along the way, he visited Eastern Siberia, Armenia, Adjara (Georgia), Xinjiang (western China), Hong Kong, and so on. From simple sandwiches to more complex dishes, from the sea to the mountains, for Paul the only true marker of sophistication is the emotion food transmits. Sharing a moment of pleasure, around the table or outdoors, discovering extraordinary artisans and stories: with its unifying force, food becomes a pretext for the rest, and a reflection of the world around us. With Paul, food tasting becomes a way to understand and discover a region, and those who live and work there every day.
Paul offers you a unique experience…
“Across the vineyards of Western Georgia”, an immersive experience into the winegrowing and culinary culture of Georgia, to be discovered in a small group, from 3 to 13 December 2022. Contact us for further details.…
What’s more…
We can organise a service to provide a chef like Paul as a guide, whatever your destination.
He can also act as a sort of “culinary concierge” for travellers.
